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| Folk Customs-Hakka
Village>A Hakka Wedding |
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This
Part of the wedding ceremony takes place in the groom's
home.
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Today in Shibi Village the young Hakka people,
despite the fact that they wear fashionable dresses, ride motorcycles
or enjoy modern dances, still hold wedding ceremonies strictly
according to the unique Hakka tradition.
The greater part of the Hakka wedding rites take place in the
bride's home, and only at midnight does the bride leave her
parents' home. In the dark of night, the bridegroom and his
family members, holding torches and beating drums and gongs,
walk across forests and fields to the bride's home. A "negotiation"
between representatives from both the bride's and groom's sides
then begins until an "agreement" is finally reached. This is
all part of the ceremony: in fact, everything is arranged long
before. Then an old lady specially invited to act as the master
of ceremonies takes charge of every detail involved in sending
the girl to the bridegroom's home.
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The
Hakka people love to drink pounded tea.
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First, the old lady helps the bride put on
her make-up, then helps her to check every article of her dowry.
This is followed by a grand ceremony called "passing over the
rice sifter". In the middle of the ancestral hall is a barrel
full of unhusked rice with two red candles planted in it. Placed
on the rice are a ruler, symbolizing "appropriately measuring
out living expenses without waste", a pair of scissors, meaning
"diligently doing needlework", and a mirror, suggesting "perceiving
and removing stains to avoid disgrace". Undoubtedly, the rice
barrel itself is a symbol of a plentiful life and a bright future.
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